This application claims the benefit of French Patent Application No. 97 14520 filed Nov. 19, 1997 and International Application No. PCT/FR98/02440 filed Nov. 16, 1998.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic hematologic counting and analyzing device. More precisely it relates to a device making it possible, in particular, to automatically measure platelets, red corpuscles, white corpuscles and hemoglobin in blood.
2. Description Of The Related Art
French Patent No. 2,629,208 describes an automatic hematologic analyzer. This device, even though already simplified, remains relatively complex. This complexity means that such a device is necessarily bulky and furthermore its manufacturing cost is high. The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the known difficulties of the prior art by reducing the number of useful parts in the device thereby minimizing the volume of the device.
The device of the present invention is of very compact size. Its prime feature is its compactness considering its high performance in matters of analysis, storage and the processing of hematologic measurements. In order to realize such a concept, each assembly and subassembly was studied at length to optimize the mechanical principles of dilution and acquisition of this analyzer. The operating principle of the device of the present invention is described in detail in French Patent No. 2,629,208, EP 0 508 495 and EP 0 335 789 whose descriptions are incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to an automatic hematologic counting and analyzing device that is arranged in three assemblies: a pumping assembly including an air pump driven by a first motor and three pumps for lysis, diluent and sampling, respectively, actuated by a second motor; a diluting assembly including three containers for waste material, first dilution for white corpuscles and second dilution for red corpuscles, respectively; and a measuring assembly including a measuring chamber.
The careful grouping of the various elements constituting the device makes it possible to minimize the volume necessary.
The measuring unit of the device is a single measuring chamber that makes it possible to carry out the counting of platelets, red corpuscles and white corpuscles. By using only one measuring chamber, the cost of the device is lowered and the volume of the device is reduced.
The device has a set of valves that advantageously includes a valve that permits the use of water instead of an isotonic diluent. Rinsing with distilled water makes it possible to put the device on standby without risking crystallization due to salts present in the diluent.